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I had no idea. I've just read the whole thread and it made me weep.
To all of you who have helped and supported Paul and to those who are touched by his passing, I salute you. RIP Paul. -
For all the gator- hators out there, I've got to give my 2p:
used them solid for 2 years (ok, one went after 18 months) and they've done me proud. About 11,000 miles on the one I currently have as on the rear of my Fuji Track. OK, it's wearing through in places but it didn't suffer instant gashes at the sight of glass like the Vittoria tyres I have used for about 500 miles over the same period and the Vittorias are slippery-as-soap-in-the-bath when wet and riding on the rims is more comfortable.
Conti's grip like shit to a blanket copared to others I've tried.That's why I'm currently running:
- F:GP4000s(23mm) R:Gatorskin(25mm)
- F:GP4000s(23mm) R:GP400s(23mm)
- F:Gatorskin(28mm) R Gatorskin(28mm)
I've binned all other tyres.
Ha! - F:GP4000s(23mm) R:Gatorskin(25mm)
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Good on you if you manage to do it for 150GN.
I tried this a couple of years back and including the price of the frame and "nothing fancy" parts, probably cost closer to 300.Sounds like you've got a better frame than I had for starters, you may be lucky and have an English threaded BB. CHECK THE BB and HEADSET! Make sure they are standard English threads, not Raleigh ones.
See what you can beg or borrow first, especially if you can borrow cranks, chainring and sprockets and maybe stem, it'll give you a better idea of what suits your riding style. I find I spend more money on these three items than anything else getting the gearing and fit right.
Good luck
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Alright mate, how you doing!
Your brooks saddle shouldn't sound like plastic. It may be that it hasn't been used for a long time.
when you press the leather with your thumb or put any weight on it, are there any cracks in the leather? Or does its shape not deform at all?
If the surface is fairly shiny it may have been well treated with proofide or something in the past, this may have gone hard.
Try putting the saddle in a thick platic bag and dunking it in some warm water (don't get the saddle wet, just try and warm it up), or use a hair dryer just on warm setting to try and get the old leather warmed up. Once it's warm, give the leather a bit of a rub and see if wax comes off, if so you probably just need to rub this wax in a bit (the heat from your hands will soften the wax up).
If there are small or large cracks in the leather or it feels brittle (feel the edges see if they bend), then you may have to be a bit more careful. Try rubbing a little proofide in topside and underneath. Keep the saddle reasonably warm for a few days hours and see if the leather gets any more supple. You may have to do this several times.
Even so, if the saddle is cracked and the leather hasn't been looked after, no matter how much wax you put on now the leather structure may have disintegrated - leather does biodegrade, eventually. If the cracks get bigger or the saddle gets considerably baggier as you ride it, you may be out of luck.
(Cop-out clause: I'm just guessing all this from past experience with walking boots, i've never had to coax an old saddle back to life, but it's leather so probably behaves the same).
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Good luck for the ride.
Sounds like a tough challenge. -
VB, you are doing a great job man.
Thanks for all the effort you put in to keep this place running, some folks are never going to appreciate it, so just put your feet up for a night and have a beer.BTW, wrapping has gone away for me on 1024 screen. Cheers.
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I would guess that you'd find it really difficult to screw the nipples past the end of the thread.
Either:
- you have screwed past the end of the thread and you've stripped some of the threads from the nipple (softer than spokes so thhats where the threads get stripped).
- most nipples have an unthreaded portion of about 2-3mm inside the spoke end and you may have just used up this unthreaded portion without doing any damage.
If you have stripped the threads a littl, you are more likely to have the rest of the thread stripped than you were, but there may still be about 8mm of thread gripping the spoke and that may be enough if you're not a heavy rider. All depends how many spokes you have. 32/36, may be ok, less than 32 I'd be starting again with the correct spokes and new nipples.
If you have any spare nipples, check inside the end to see if they have an unthreaded recess.
- you have screwed past the end of the thread and you've stripped some of the threads from the nipple (softer than spokes so thhats where the threads get stripped).
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Full screen shot attached
Rather than mixing ISO and JIS you'd be better served by leaving said BB / crank arrangement as it is and living with a chainline that is out. Sure as hell didn't make any difference for me.
Maybe I get a bit more chain wear, but who knows. The original chainring is so poor anyway you'll probably get smoother transmission with a decent chainring that is 2mm out.